Accidental discharges of oil close to shore can have serious detrimental effects on the environment. Consequently, it is desirable to treat the discharge so that rapid dispersion of oil into the sea water is accomplished. This requires that the dispersant penetrate the oil film and rapidly spread at the oil/water interface, thereby sharply lowering the oil/water interfacial tension. For good dispersion at the relatively low shear supplied by wave motion, ultra-low interfacial tensions are required. The design of a good oil spill dispersant involves blending surfactants to achieve such low interfacial tensions at very low surfactants to oil treat rates, generally in the range of 1/100 to 1/500 by weight. The requirement that the dispersant mixture be effective at such low concentrations establishes a low probability of success of empirically selecting the correct combination of surfactants. Consequently, there is a need in the art for surfactant systems suitable for economically dispersing oil-spills.